‘A Little Extra Gear’: Jacob deGrom Backs Up His Trade Deadline Words As Texas Rangers Beat Baltimore Orioles 5-1

ARLINGTON, Texas — Jacob deGrom allowed 1 earned run over 5 innings in his first start since he declined to waive his no-trade clause, and Corey Seager hit a three-run home run in the eighth inning as the Texas Rangers beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-1 on Saturday night at Globe Life Field.

Texas has won four in a row. The Rangers moved to 59-58 and back over .500 for the first time since a season-worst six-game losing streak dropped them out of first place in the American League West. They sit a half-game behind the Houston Astros.

The right-hander finished with 5 innings, 3 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk, and 9 strikeouts. He threw 88 pitches, 55 of them for strikes. He struck out half of the 18 batters he faced. Saturday brought his first win since June 30 at Cleveland. Over his previous four starts he had gone 0-2 and allowed 13 earned runs in 18 innings.

The only run against him came three at-bats into the game. Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday drove a four-seam fastball 403 feet into the right-field seats, ending an 0-for-18 stretch. Only 2 more hits followed before Peyton Gray took over to start the sixth inning.

Seager, deGrom, and Rangers manager Skip Schumaker met with reporters afterward, in comments published by The Dallas Morning News.

Schumaker said the outing looked like vintage deGrom.

“I’m sure there were a lot of emotions, whether he’s going to admit it or not, for this start,” Schumaker said, “but he stepped up and gave us exactly what we needed.”

Seager said deGrom was out there proving why he wanted to stay in Texas.

“It was probably a little bit emotional for him today,” Seager said. “A little extra gear, a little extra want, I guess, is a good word. To go out there, prove why he wanted to be here, prove why he’s been here, why he’s been the best and why we want him to be here. It was fun to watch.”

Jacob deGrom’s First Start Since the Trade Deadline

The Rangers approached deGrom about waiving his full no-trade clause before Monday’s deadline, and he told the club he wanted to stay, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported Aug. 3. Rosenthal also reported that Texas asked Seager and Nathan Eovaldi about waiving their no-trade protection. Eovaldi holds a full clause. Seager can block deals to eight teams and gains full 10-and-5 rights at the end of the season.

deGrom signed a five-year, $185 million contract with Texas in December 2022 and asked for the no-trade clause at the time. He is earning $38 million this season and is owed $37 million in 2027. He turned 38 in June and is in his 13th major league season.

Before the game turned, Schumaker said Seager and deGrom are the players who put up the crooked numbers that make a coaching staff look good.

“You’ve heard the term aircraft carriers, and the whole deal, but those are them,” Schumaker explained. “That’s what they look like. They are the ones that put up crooked numbers to make us look really good as coaches. Corey Seager is that guy and Jacob deGrom is that guy. You can’t teach 100 mph, putting sliders wherever you want it at his age, still doing it, it’s incredible.”

Texas made one trade before the deadline, sending infielder Josh Smith and minor league right-hander Josh Stephan to the Toronto Blue Jays for left-hander Adam Macko. The club had acquired reliever Chase Silseth and catcher Logan O’Hoppe from the Los Angeles Angels in a separate deal in late July.

Schumaker said hip discomfort that has lingered since before the All-Star break factored into the decision to stop deGrom at 88 pitches. deGrom said he wanted to work deeper into the game and the pitch count was not there.

“The hip is still there a little bit but we’re going to be able to manage it and keep going,” deGrom said. “I had some deep counts and was at 88 at the end of the fifth. Today was definitely better than it had been in Houston, so we tried not to reset it and take a step backwards. I think we came out at a good time. I obviously wish I could’ve gone deeper, and the pitch count wasn’t there, but we were obviously able to come out of that one feeling better than I did after the Houston one.”

Corey Seager’s Return and the Rangers’ Winning Streak

Seager came off the injured list July 31 after 30 days out with lower back inflammation. It was his third injured list stint of 2026 and his second because of his back. He also missed 12 games in June with a concussion sustained in a home plate collision.

Saturday’s home run was his first since the activation. Seager drove a sinker from Orioles left-hander Grant Wolfram into the right-center field seats with two runners aboard and Texas leading 2-1. He is in his fifth season of a 10-year, $325 million contract signed before the 2022 campaign.

Texas had taken the lead for good in the second inning on 2 unearned runs. The rally came on 2 infield singles and 2 Baltimore throwing errors. Evan Carter and Ezequiel Duran both scored.

Gray, Silseth, and Cal Quantrill covered the final 4 innings without allowing a run. Gray worked 1 2/3 innings, Silseth went 1 1/3, and Quantrill handled the ninth.

Jacob Latz did not pitch. The left-hander is the Rangers’ lone All-Star this season, and he worked 2 scoreless innings Friday for his 22nd save.

Schumaker said having Seager back moves other hitters into spots that suit them better.

“Having Corey Seager back, hopefully for the rest of the season, changes everything,” Schumaker said. “It puts people in different spots in the order, it puts people in positions that they should probably be playing more often at and obviously, you have to always circle somebody in the middle of the order, and you’re always looking at Corey.”

Baltimore starter Kyle Bradish allowed 2 runs and 5 hits over 6 innings. He struck out 4 and did not walk a batter. Bradish fell to 7-11, and the Orioles dropped to 56-61.

The teams close the series Sunday at Globe Life Field. Kumar Rocker is scheduled to start for Texas against Orioles left-hander Cade Povich. First pitch is set for 1:35 p.m. CT.